Staying Dry

Elizabeth has been day time potty trained for some time now, but she was still wearing pull-ups during naps and at night. Every morning she would wake up wet and often after nap time she would be wet too, so I assumed she was just sleeping so soundly that she wasn't waking up to go to the bathroom. One morning last week she told me she had stayed dry. I checked and said, "no, sweetie you pottied in your diaper." She said, "no mommy I just did that when I woke up." Ok, so now we are just laying in bed peeing because it is easier?! When we were on vacation her friend asked her one morning at breakfast, "Why do wear diapers?" I held my breath waiting for her answer and she replied, "I don't know." It was time to try underwear at night. I think I didn't want to deal with wet sheets in the middle of the night and all the crying that would go with it and the possibility of waking up the whole house, but I knew we had to try. If she was just peeing in a diaper because she was wearing a diaper than maybe underwear would be just fine. Wednesday night I prepared Brandon for my mission and told him I was prepared to deal with any situation that may occur. The main obstacle was that she wanted milk before she went to bed. We have been giving her her last drink at dinner time so the bladder would be good and empty before bed, but she really wanted milk. She associated wearing underwear with not getting milk and it took me a good 15 minutes to settle her down and tell her what a big girl she would be for wearing underwear and waking up dry. She woke me up at 12:30 am, soaking wet. I changed her sheets, put a pull-up on her and she went right back to sleep. The next morning she woke up exclaiming, "I stayed dry!" I guess she didn't remember the 12:30 accident, but her pull-up was dry. Thursday night we tried again. I still had to do some convincing for her to wear underwear, but she was exhausted and gave in a little easier and fell right asleep. At 7:15am this morning I went in and woke her up because I didn't want her make it this far and then have an accident this morning. She was dry! I begged her to go to the bathroom and go potty and she told me she didn't need to. She didn't go until after breakfast and a cup of juice. I think that means my three-year old daughter's bladder is stronger than mine! Hooray for Elizabeth! We will hope she does just as good tonight! Could it be that we will only have one child in diapers? Grant, do you want to try to sit on the potty?! Just joking, I think we better get him walking first!

Wisconsin Dells

This past week we took a family trip to Wisconsin Dells with another family. Neither of us had ever been before, but I think it may have to be an annual trip! We had such a good time! Our kids are roughly the same age and the adults all have lots in common and we are still talking after cohabiting for five days!

We stayed at the Wilderness Resort and rented a condo on Lake Delton. It had two bedrooms and a loft with double beds (and a pull out). We let the three year olds take over the loft. Brandon and I won the coin flip so we took the master bedroom. The little boys (15 months) got to bunk with their respective mommies and daddies! The layout of the condo was actually perfect. Instead of having a traditional deck/balcony, it was completely finished with a sitting area with a fireplace and a jacuzzi tub. You could open the outside sliding doors to get fresh air, but the best part was it had sliders to the inside as well and it gave the adults their own space at night and kept the inside quiet for the sleeping kids. I can now say that I have added the card game "500" to my repertoire, although I am far from perfecting it!

We took food for breakfasts and lunches and we ate our dinners out. We had been given some excellent suggestions by friends who have been to the Dells. The first night we dined at a sports bar called Monks. The second night we ate at MooseJaw - excellent pizza! Friday night we had made reservations at Buffalo Phil's. This is restaurant that delivers your food and drink on trains. The kids loved every minute of it! They sat right next the tracks and we had to remind them more than once not to touch the other people's food as it went by! Saturday night we ate at a place called Schriefers (pretty sure that is not how it is spelled, but you get the idea), it was a nice German pub. I had an open faced pot roast sandwich on beer bread with beer cheese potatoes - delish! Is it ironic that I would talk about all the food before I even mention the water parks?! In food conclusion, we had great meals!

The resort was next to empty Wednesday and Thursday. The crowds picked up a little Friday and of course Saturday. It was so nice to not fight any crowds in the water parks or restaurants. Obviously, all of the outside attractions were closed, but there was plenty to do inside. There are several different water areas but they rotate the ones they have open during the off season, but we got to do them all.

When we arrived on Wednesday we ate dinner first and then did Cubby Cove's which was the water attraction at our place. It was geared towards the little ones and is a little smaller so it isn't so overwhelming for them. It had a great water slide that the kids loved. Grant even held his arms out to Brandon to have him take him down it again and again! As we were leaving we spied the indoor/outdoor hot tub. The next night Jessica and I negotiated to help get the kids in bed and we went for a soak. It was perfect sitting outside in hot water, just chatting and relaxing!

The next day we went to the wave pool with the glass ceiling, "for year round tanning!" There was a kiddie area right next to it that Elizabeth enjoyed as well. Just next door was a the area with kiddie water slides and a lazy river. There were even swings in the water for the little ones. I put Grant in one and he was doing find until the "big bucket" of water dumped and although he didn't get wet, there was quite the rush of air and of course the noise and it scared him. From that point he was pretty content to just stay in my arms. Since he isn't walking yet(!) he wasn't to anxious to get down and I think crawling on the shallow pool areas hurt his knees, so in my arms he stayed!

We had great family rides in the lazy river. In fact, one day the little boys both fell asleep in our laps while floating in the tubes. There was only one problem. There were two places in the lazy river were you had the option of going under a waterfall. Of course I never wanted to go under the waterfalls. If it wasn't for this obstacle I probably would have fallen asleep too! However, I had to be on full alert in these two spots! About the third lap around, when Grant is really zonked out, I get forced under the waterfall and when I say forced, I mean forced. Some man and what I believe was his daughter thought it was hilarious. I tried my best to paddle to the other side to avoid it, but I couldn't get it done and no one helped. They pushed me and my sleeping baby right into the direction of the water. To make matters worse, we kind of got stuck under the waterfall. Needless to say we were drenched and awake. If looks could kill.... Now, I realize we are at a water park, you might get wet...yeah, yeah, yeah I know, but it was the lazy river!! He was able to fall back asleep and both boys actually sleep for a good 30 minutes and I had to be pried out of my tube!

One morning we participated in the Ken-Ducky-Derby Duck Race. The kids got to pick out cute rubber ducks and they put their names on them and then there was a duck race in the famous lazy river. Elizabeth didn't win any of the races, but our friends did and they graciously shared a duck whistle with Elizabeth!

Saturday morning we took the kids on a horse and wagon ride. We were the first riders and it was a nice ride, but the coachman (man steering the horses? I don't know what they are called so I'm going with coachman, Cinderella style) was lacking personality. When I asked what the horses names were, he mumbled "Ned and Ted." It is important for Elizabeth to keep track of all of the horses she has associated with. So far we have Charlie, Poncho, Ned and Ted. We then took the daddies to an indoor playground that we had taken the kids to when they played golf a few days before. It was a four story playground with foam ball blasters...pretty cool. There was a soft play area for Grant, which he loved! We opted to do a water park after dinner and it was one we hadn't been to yet. It had one slide that I could do with Elizabeth, but the other two (commonly referred to as the orange one and blue one) she had to do alone. She had had trouble the day before on a slide by herself. Every time she went around the corner she was losing her balance and ending up on her back and then got a face full of water at the bottom. She was a little scared of the solo slides. However, I had been watching the orange and blue slides and every kids came down sitting up so I was confident that it was not as fast and that if she would just try it she would be fine. Our Elizabeth is such an observer. She has to soak it all in before she will try anything. So I stood there with her and pointed out how everyone was still sitting at the bottom. Brandon took her to the top, but they turned around and came back down. We watched some more and then Brandon told her we would get her a special treat if she would just try. Yes, we bribed our daughter to go down a water slide. Guess what? It worked! She did it and she loved it! She did it several more times and I don't know how but one time she did come down on her back and one time on her belly, but she thought it was fun!

A family who was leaving had given some free passes, so the dads took the big kids to the bumper boats. I think the dads had more fun than the kids! Our friends took their kids back to the condo for baths, but we weren't quite ready yet. We had passes for a mirror maze and haunted house. I thought the mirror maze would be fun so I took Elizabeth and it was cool. I am not sure she really understood it, but it wasn't scary. Then we entered the haunted house. Now, I was extremely cautious and took all corners before her and was prepared to exit at anytime. Well one corner came too fast and there was a bloody mannequin with a pistol and the grim reaper. I quickly grabbed her and we left. I don't think it was soon enough though because she started asking a lot of questions about the "spooky hotel." Nice mommy fail moment Alison. Should have left after the mirror maze. To make matters worse she is now asking for her special treat and we have no money! We finally compromised with a cookie when we got home and she seemed happy with that....phew!

Some highlights:
- Brandon reading the kids bedtime stories on the iPad

- The resort shuttle - the kids loved riding the "bus!"
- "Do you want a snack?....You know." We have no idea what this means or where it came from but we had a couple of three year-olds that thought this was hysterical.
- There were several "stuffed" animals through out the resort. Elizabeth was particularly fond of the baby bear in our lobby, which at one point she tried to milk. I totally blame the cow milking at the State Fair for this! We told the kids that there was probably bugs in the fur and they should stop touching it. Of course later when the father's were with us the kids asked about the bugs and the guys looked at us like "where would they get that idea?!"
- The free moose and buffalo hats we got at the restaurants provided lots of entertainment!
- The guys golfed one afternoon and even though they were cold, they said the course was beautiful.
- The girls shopped the outlet mall one afternoon and then dragged the families back after dinner because we were pretty sure we had left a few coats behind in Gap that had our names on them. After going back and actually trying them on, we decided they were better off staying at the Gap!!
- Overhearing the chit-chat from the loft, when the kids were supposed to be sleeping!
- The pushing of the elevator buttons...Elizabeth was responsible for pressing "4"
- The Indian trading shop that not only had cigar indians, but full head dresses as well!


- The jacuzzi tub - the big kids loved it!

- Good times, great friends, awesome memories!!!



I made Flip video of the trip, but didn't take a lot of great pictures, but my friend blogs too, so I will just reference her blog! http://schreurssnapshots.blogspot.com/

Such a Mess!

Elizabeth did the same thing when she was about Grant's age (15 months), but her choice was oatmeal. I couldn't find the exact picture of Elizabeth when she spilled the oatmeal, but you get the idea.


Grant choose rice. Both of the kids love to play in the lazy susan and as long as they don't get their fingers pinched and don't play with liquids (syrup, vegetable oil, etc...) I let them have fun. Oatmeal packages are rearranged, jell-o boxes are stacked, bags of nuts and chips put on different shelves....really I don't mind this. However, to be perfectly honest dumping small particles of food all over the floor is a big mess. I don't know how they do it...very sneaky!! I felt like I had rice sticking to my feet for the next few days. No matter how many times I vacuumed there was still some there!

Arizona State vs. IL Tailgate

My brother came home for the IL game and Sara surprised us all and came home too! We had a wonderful dinner together Friday night (beef tenderloin, green beans and my favorite au gratin potatoes that my mom makes and of course mushrooms for Elizabeth!). Brandon, David and my dad went golfing Saturday morning and then Sara and I joined them to head to Champaign. It has been a few years since we have actually been able to tailgate. We have season tickets, but of course don't make it to all of the games. This year we put a few games on our calendar and it just so happened that David had planned to come home for a few too.

Dad grabbed a cat nap at the rest area where we met up with our friends.


It was a great game and an exciting win! We didn't get home until after midnight. The game was so close that everyone stayed for it, so even though we let the traffic clear for an hour it still took along time to get on the road. So much fun!

This is Elizabeth playing "pretend sleep" with her doll and a baby blanket that her Great-Great-Grandma Ford made. After she decided she wasn't tired anymore she played dressed up!

Grant Loves to...

...climb, drool, eat paper (toilet paper, paper towels, mail...he isn't picky!) and most of all he just loves to do whatever his big sister is doing! Most of the time this annoys her and she thinks he is trying to take her stuff. I just keep explaining he just wants to do what she is doing. The other day in the car she decided it would be fun to teach him new words. As he pointed out the window at a pond and grunted she said, "That's a pond buddy!" And then, "that's corn buddy ....that's grass buddy...that's beans buddy!" Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty cute! I guess we will have to keep working on it because he still just grunts and makes his cute little goat sounds!

Lollipop Tree

I stole this idea from my new obsession, Pinterest. It works great for a candy theme or a birthday party!

Daddy's Little Helpers

Brandon installed a new garbage disposal this past weekend and the kids were really interested in this project! Most of all I think they just love doing whatever Daddy is doing!

A Beautiful Fall Afternoon

Elizabeth and Grant were playing outside with sidewalk chalk and they were playing so nicely together that I had to grab some pictures! I look forward to many moments like these. And of course, you don't mess with this girl and her dog! By the way, Elizabeth's sidewalk art is called "A Large Hamburger."

Fall Swimming

Elizabeth started swimming this week. If you recall last spring, I had to pry her off me to get her in the water and bribe her with special treats afterwards. This time she did awesome. Although when I told her she was going to swimming she did ask what her special treat was going to be! She got right in the water and the coach even complimented her progress at the end. Next week they are going to work on moving their arms! Just in time, we leave for the Dells next week! I'll try to snap some swim pictures in the lessons to come. Her special treat was getting to go to the library. There will probably be a melt down when we return the books and she doesn't get a prize since the summer reading program is over, but we will cross that bridge when we get there!

Picture from First Day of Tumbling

I know I am a little late in posting this picture, but better late than never right?!

She just had her third class and each week we work on something new. She cried a little the second week, so yesterday we worked on not crying and not needing mommy right by her side. She did great, there were no tears, but she ran over to me quite a few times to tell me something. So that will be what we work on next week, staying with the class and not running over to the chairs. She is doing well and I am pleased with what she is learning.

First Day of Sunday School

This was Elizabeth on her first day of Sunday School. She was a little clingy at first, but then did great! I think it helped that her friend Gavin was there. I am teaching the class above her so she could see me (because all the classes were together for the first day), but didn't run over to me.

Pumpkin Painting

I let Elizabeth paint pumpkins this week. She wore her underwear and art smock and then the sun got in her eyes and we added the polka dot shades! She was really excited to pick out the pumpkins. We had to go back and get more because she wanted to paint a few for her friends. Her idea of painting is to cover the pumpkin in different colors, multiple times! Oh the layers of paint she had! She had a lot of fun. She painted Grant's hands and we did a hand print pumpkin for him. I couldn't take pictures because of the mess! They all turned out pretty cute, Elizabeth originals for sure!

9-11

I know someday our kids will ask where we were on 9-11-01, but I really wasn't prepared to answer Elizabeth's questions today. I was getting ready for church and had the TV on and the remembrance ceremonies were being televised. Elizabeth came in asked about the fountains, where the foot prints of the towers used to stand. She asked why the buildings weren't there anymore and who took them down. I always try to be honest with all answers I give her, but this was a truth that she is just not ready for and I wasn't ready to share. Luckily, a snack diversion worked.

10 years ago I was a senior in college and it was the fall career fair. The career fair where you are supposed to be able to get a ton of interviews and land a job before Christmas break so that you can "breeze" through the last semester. Needless to say not a lot of companies showed up at the career fair and if they did, they didn't know if they were hiring and weren't sure what their futures held. I don't think any of us knew what our futures held. I remember that I had French class and the TA dismissed us early. I walked over to the Student Union and everyone was watching the news. We sat at tables with people we didn't know and we talked to people we usually didn't talk to. There was an instant bond and in the wake of being attacked you could tell that WE were getting stronger. There was a football game that weekend and there was talk of all sporting events being cancelled, for fear of attacks on large public gatherings. The game went on and I have never heard so many people actually sing our National Anthem! I think every generation has that, "where were you when...." moment and this is mine. You would be amazed how many times over the last ten years that I look at a clock at the time is 9:11. It actually happened this morning. I grabbed my phone to turn it to silent mode for church and it was 9:11.

Brandon told me earlier this week that he was going to have a business trip. At the time I didn't realize he was going to be flying today. I will be glad when I know he is there and am selfishly glad he isn't going to a major airport!

Elizabeth and Grant, someday Mommy and Daddy will tell you all about 9-11, but for know just think how beautiful those fountains are and how lucky we are to have our freedom.

The Sweetest Good Night Kiss

I have had a really busy week and don't feel like I have had much quality time with the kids. Brandon was working late last night so it was just me and the kids for dinner, baths and bed. After dinner we got in the "big bath tub" and splashed and played and just had fun (and got clean!). We were all in Elizabeth's bed reading books and it was time to say good night. Usually, we tell Elizabeth to give Grant a kiss, but tonight I said, "Grant, do you want to give your sister a kiss good night?" He looked at me for a second and then slowly crawled over to her. As he got closer he climbed up on part of her arm. She laid so still, smiling and waiting. I was holding my breathe, was he really going to do it?! Then he leaned over to her mouth a planted a big one on her! Now, I should mention the way Grant kisses is he opens his mouth and then brings his mouth to you. He doesn't quite have the puckering down, but we know that this is his way of kissing and considering a lot of times when Elizabeth hugs him, he bites her (Someone told me that sometimes babies bite as a way of showing affection), this moment was precious. She grinned from ear to ear and I was so disappointed that I didn't have the Flip camera in my back pocket because it was a moment worth capturing! It was exactly what I needed and it melted my heart!

Peep

Elizabeth was having a rough afternoon and every little thing was bothering her and her reaction was to yell. I had asked her to stop several times and helped her find solutions to the problems such as "he is looking at me" and "he is going to take my bag." She was overreacting to everything! As a last resort I said, "Elizabeth if you make one more peep you are going to your room to lay down." She quickly said, "PEEP!" and walked away. I couldn't even get mad because I was laughing so hard. She didn't say it rudely, she honestly said it like a bird - like a bird peeping!

Pretend Play & Names

Elizabeth does a lot of pretend play and some of the scenarios are worth capturing.

Yesterday I mentioned that my throat hurt, so Dr.Elizabeth to the rescue! Well after waiting quite some time in the chair I was told that she was the nurse and that the doctor would be right in, we just had to be patient and wait (no idea where she might have picked that up from!)

This morning she was having some "friends" over for breakfast and wanted to open the front door to let them in and became rather frustrated when the door was locked and she couldn't get it open.

She really likes to play with her baby dolls. She wants you to hold them, but you have to hold them exactly like she tells you and it is slightly different every time. I actually drove home with Clarabell (cow from Micky Mouse) and Snowball (a beautiful cashmere stuffed dog) on my lap from Target because she wanted me to teach them how to drive. In addition, if you ask her what her babies or even her friends are named we get some very interesting answers. Six months ago it was just "baby." Kind of how our fish is named "Mr.Fish." A few months ago she really got stuck on the name "Lula" (no clue). Now the beginning parts of the name will make sense but she adds something interesting at the end. It is hard to write because it is her own made up language, but it would be something like "Lula de scensy"

She also likes to take Grant on adventures. This entails her pushing him around in his high chair! They both think this is quite fun!

The Toon Car - Those familiar with Mickey Mouse will understand the toon car! She got out her little table and chairs today when she had a friend over to play. I had previously put them away because of our dare devil climber. This afternoon when naps weren't panning out, she decided to load the toon car (table and chairs) and go on a trip. These are things she said: "I have to load the toon car. Don't forget the baby. (small pause) Now where did put the baby? Oh we need food. Maybe I should go to the grocery store. OK! Everybody load up! Too-Toot! Oh I think the car is broke, I better get out and fix it!" Unfortunately, Grant was not into sitting still in the toon car and not touching any of her precious loaded items. He would grab something, she would try to take it from him and he would grunt at her with his best goat noise. Quite the scene.

Dress-Up

I feel like we may be entering that very precious "dress-up" phase. So this post will be dress-up pictures. It is only a matter of time before Grant falls victim!

Things Elizabeth Actually Says

I don't have enough of these to post each day, but I am going to accumulate them in one post over time and then post them.

The following is out the mouth of a 3 year old!

- "Can you bring the iPad over here so I can check the weather. Yep it has some green coming through. Yep that means it is going to rain"

- "It's ok if you go the wrong way mommy, it is just an accident" (as I got lost driving to the park)

- Me: "Elizabeth do you have to go potty?"
E: "No, do you?"

- "Jack is saying, Why isn't anyone letting me inside?" (as Jack is patiently waiting outside the door)

- "Can you make it smell better in here?"
Me: "Why?"
E: "I tooted!"

- "Mom! He pooped! Change him, NOW!!!"

- "I am not feeling very patient" (after asking her to be patient in a check out line and explaining that we have to wait our turn)

- "I picked a green tomato, but don't worry I put it back in the dirt so it can grow"

- "I have a plan! Sound good?"

- "I can't ever kiss anyone!" I ask why, she responds, "I have a cold and you said I couldn't!"

- "Hold on honey pot...just a minute" (talking to Grant)

- My dad, "I think..." he pauses briefly and Elizabeth interjects "we should move along!" (she was ready for the next activity)

- "I don't want to nap today. I will go to bed early and I will be happy"

- "You are being kind of loud and I'm trying to listen!" (directed to me as I was trying to soothe her crying baby brother)

- "I have to go potty. Are they cleaning the bathroom?" (at Wal-Mart...where they are always cleaning the bathroom when she has to go!)

- "Daddy when are you going to take us out for dinner?" (Brandon looks at me. I promise I did not but her up to that, but what a great idea!)

Children in Furniture Stores

My mom and I were very brave this week and took the kids to a large furniture store. Let me just share a few tidbits of our adventure.

First, Elizabeth touched everything!! You know all of those figurines they use for staging...the animals, she had to pet and say a kind word to....the "treasure" chests, she had to look inside and there were a lot of these....the furniture had to be tested.

Grant was fairly content to sit in the stroller and munch on a few baby mum mums....something that wouldn't make a mess and if he threw I could easily pick up!

There were train tracks near by and we watched the ENTIRE train pass.

Then we get to a more spacious area and are looking at a particular piece for a good amount of time. Elizabeth decides this nice foyer area would be nice to spin Grant around in. She starts twirling him in circles...he is still in his stroller and then says, "how you doin' buddy, are you getting dizzy? Let's go this way now!" Oh my, I had to put a stop to this. I could see the stroller careening out of control and wiping out a whole display.

Next we go into the fabric swatch room. There are several rack of the fabric hanging. It is a carpeted room and Grant has been sitting most of the day, so I let him get out to crawl. He decides it is quite fun to crawl through the lowest row of fabric, through the rack. He isn't being too distributive, but then big sister decides this is fun so she will do it too. Well she is a little bigger and the two of them together is a bad combo. The hangers are now falling down and I know we are crossing the line and these kids are not so "cute" anymore. We quickly pack up and head on down the road.

I guess we wore our welcome out there! This seems to be a recurring theme. I am struggling with letting the kids do things that aren't harming anyone or property and being so strict that all they can do be like statues/robots, which let's face it, even if that was the desired behavior I would still have to figure out a way to execute that and I don't think I can do that 24/7!

Two Toes Injured

What are the chances of Brandon and I both dropping something on feet and injuring the same toes within 24 hours of each other? In our house apparently pretty good because it happened!

I will spare you pictures, but let me just say we each have a black and blue toe. I was putting something away in the kitchen and bumped a really nice, really heavy bottle opener off the counter. Luckily, my toe broke the fall. I am really looking forward to wearing heels to a wedding we are going to this weekend! Brandon was moving the mini trampoline for Elizabeth so she could show him her new tumbling moves (which is kind of strange, since they didn't use a trampoline in class, but I digress) it slipped out of his hands and fell on his toe. I would like to note that we were both very good and no bad words were said, just lots of groaning and I personally wanted to throw-up it hurt so bad.

Well no band-aid or boo-bunny is going to fix these ugly toes, just time!

Grant's Latest

The stairs are Grant's favorite place to play. He is a pro at crawling up and if he thinks he is really getting away with something he will give the cutest belly laugh and crawl even faster to get away from you. He is pretty good at coming down too. He always turns around and most of the time will slide right down. Sometimes he gets preoccupied and remembers it is fun to go up too and just gets wrapped up in the fun of going up a few steps and down a few steps!

I took video of him crawling the other day because I feel like this chapter will be closing soon. Surely our walking days are just around the corner! He pulls up on everything and walks along everything and holding my hands. He has even stood unaided a few times, but no solo steps yet.



The eating adventure continues and all I can say is that this kid has an arm! I wish he was throwing a baseball or football (well not really, but you know what I mean), instead it is food and sippy cups. There is no polite, I am finished with my drink. It is all outright thrown down of the sippy cup to the floor! Same goes for food. Sometimes it is because he is done, I think other times it is his way of sorting through what he likes on his plate and sometimes I am certain he just does it for fun and because he can.

Last night for dinner he had a mini corn muffin, a whole kiwi, black beans and grilled veggies. He is still putting away plenty of food! He new breakfast favorite is oatmeal. I have been feeding it to him, but we will work our way up to utensil usage!

Teeth are still coming in and he is a little crabby as a result, but since being on the antibiotic he has been sleeping through the night, which I am very grateful for!

Grant and Elizabeth are still working on their sharing skills. There is still a lot of swiping of toys, hair pulling and biting. Any guesses on who does what? Yep Grant is the the vicious one pulling hair and biting, but it's the only thing he is really capable of as a matter of defense at this point. I have a feeling we will be working on these skills for years to come!

Pre-School Tumbling

Elizabeth had her first tumbling class yesterday. She was very excited and maybe a bit nervous, as she asked a lot of questions that morning. The other girls in her class are very sweet and well behaved . The big deal about this tumbling class is that is/was supposed to be a "drop-off" class and I had prepared Elizabeth for that. Only problem was that all the other mommies were staying. She was doing really well. She was sitting with the group and paying attention. I wouldn't say she was actively participating, but soaking it all in, in true Elizabeth fashion.

She seemed comfortable so I decided to leave. The only mistake I made was coming back a bit too early. Class wasn't quite over yet and she tried to get clingy. A quick trip to the bathroom and a little coaxing and she was back in the circle. Soon it was time to get a little piece of candy and a sticker. This might have been the high-light for her! She first picked out a piece of gum. Really? Who puts Super Bubble in a tub for pre-school aged children? Luckily we were able to swap for Smarties. Although at bed time she asked if she could get gum next time and give it to the neighbor girl who is older - if she was old enough to have gum! Such a kind heart!

Later in the middle of the day, out of the blue, she started breaking out her new moves. We had banana twist and tuck jumps being attempted in the middle of a store! I am glad I was there to see some of it so I know what is talking about and the moves that they learned so that we can practice a little.

Good job Elizabeth! More fun next week!